Don’t Get Lost, Just Get Rad on Your Weekend Bike Ride

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

Maybe you’re tired of getting hopelessly lost every time you head out on an impromptu bike ride. Maybe you’ve started dating a bike-loving lady you’d like to impress with a romantic jaunt around Napa. Heck, maybe you just want to discover a new route to try in your hometown. Whatever the case, planning out a ride doesn’t have to be a daunting or time-consuming task. Here are a few services and tricks that’ll take the guesswork out of your radical weekend ride.

One of the easiest (and newest) places to start is Strava’s online Route building feature, which launched in beta last week initially for Strava premium members (who pony up $6/month or $59/year). You access the Route builder by clicking the “My Routes” tab on the homescreen. This lets you either create an entirely new route or select from previously starred ones. The first time you use the platform, you’ll get helpful pop-up explanations for building your own path options, but it boils down to picking a starting point on the map, plotting out a few places you want to hit along the way, and then choosing a finishing point. Bam, Strava defaults to using the most popular routes in your particular area to get you from point A to point B, so you don’t end up on some sketchy two-lane highway with 18-wheelers running you off the road. If you want to adjust the route, it’s as simple as moving one or more of the markers you placed. And if you’re not looking to KOM steep hill climbs, you can toggle the “Min Elevation” setting so you get flatter terrain.

Switch on “Min Elevation” to save your legs from unnecessary climbing on a Strava-planned route.

When you’re satisfied, you can save the route and export it as a TCX or GPX file for your bike computer. That, or you can simply print out a cue sheet. Pro tip: If you’re going on a long ride, be sure to store the cue sheet in a plastic bag so it doesn’t disintegrate from sweat in your back pocket. Alternatively, you can take screenshots of the cue sheet that you can reference on your smartphone.

If you’re not a Strava premium member and have no desire to be, don’t fret. MapMyRide also provides a great interface for crafting a bike-friendly route. It works a lot like Strava, too — plot a few points you want to hit along the way, and it’ll connect them using the most bike-appropriate paths. It also has options for doing a simple out and back route, and for sending those routes your straight to your phone. Best of all, MapMyRide is free.

Alternatively, you can always Google the type of ride you’re looking for (“Berryessa loop Napa,” for example) with Strava, RideWithGPS, or MapMyRide optionally appended to the end of your search query to get results from a specific service. Doing the latter helps minimize irrelevant search results. If you’re not normally a weekend cycling warrior, be sure to check the mileage and elevation profiles of the ride to make sure you don’t end up on a Death Ride-style century when you were looking for a leisurely 50-mile loop.

Once you’ve got your route planned, you’ll want to estimate how much time you think it will take, based on your own speed and perhaps that of the person’s route you’re following. This should help dictate how much food and water you need to pack too. I like to bring at least 1.5 – 2 times as much nutrition as I expect to need just in case things take longer than expected — or in case someone else on the ride didn’t prep accordingly. Sharing is caring, after all! Also be sure to check the weather forecast. You’ll want to know how to dress so you don’t freeze or overheat, and if you should pack options like arm warmers, a vest, extra water, or electrolytes. For cooler or more temperate rides, just plain water in your bottle should work fine, but if you’re going out in 90-degree heat, you may want to pack a drink with electrolytes to help replace the salts you’ll be sweating out.

Other than that, you’ll want to make sure you have the supplies to fix a flat. If you’re going solo, it’s also always a good idea to let someone else know you’re heading for a ride, just in case something happens. If you’re borrowing or renting a bike, check the fit before you head out to ensure you can comfortably reach the pedals and handle bars. It’s a good idea to bring some money and your ID on rides, too.

If you’ve got other comments or suggestions for planning your weekend bike ride, please do share them in the comments. And happy riding!